The forest bioeconomy in Latin America

• The Latin American Model Forest Network trained more than 50 people from the region on this topic.

November 21, 2022. November 21, 2022. Between October 3 and November 16, the RESTAURAcción project, funded by the government of Canada, led by the Latin American Model Forest Network (RLABM), in synergy with CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center), developed the virtual training program on the bioeconomy of non-timber forest products in Latin America.

This program was created to give continuity to the reflections and dialogues initiated in the BioForestALC process: I Virtual Forum on the Potential of Non-timber Forest Products for a Latin American and Caribbean Bioeconomy, whose objective was to unlock the potential of forests and non-timber forest products in the context of the bioeconomy.

The virtual training process sought to foster the exchange of experiences related to non-timber forest products among various actors and professionals in the region, in order to discuss and highlight the different challenges and opportunities related to them.

The training was attended by 54 participants (26 women and 28 men) from 10 countries, with extensive experience in the field of non-timber forest products, who, week by week, during 14 sessions, internalized the concept and characteristics of the forest bioeconomy, and, through the exchange of experiences and talks by experts, sought to answer a question: Can the bioeconomy give value to the forest and improve the lives of their communities?

The final commitment of this program was to join efforts to unlock the potential of forests and non-timber forest products in order to establish a network of different actors with diverse experiences in the context of the forest bioeconomy in Latin America and the Caribbean.